For Mortal Stakes: A Malfoy Files Story
by HeadlessHuntsman
Summary: Draco is asked to stop a blackmailer. His investigation leads him through the seedy underworld of underage prostitution and pornography. It also leads him to taking up the cause, attempting to redeem that which may just be unredeemable.
1. Chapter 1

**For Mortal Stakes: A Malfoy Files Story**

**A/N: This is the second story in my Malfoy Files Series. You don't have to read the first story but it might help establish some background for the characters. This story and my writing in general is greatly influenced by the writings of Robert B Parker and Raymond Chandler. Any similarities are intended as an homage.**

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing that you recognize just the story. And I am making no money from this.**

Chapter One

_**Only where love and need are one,**_

_**And the work is play for mortal stakes,**_

-Robert Frost

I was sitting in my office with my feet propped up on the open windowsill watching the people coming and going from the shops on Knockturn Alley. It had been a slow week so I really didn't have any work. I considered skiving off the rest of the afternoon and heading to The Firepit for a drink.

The intercom on my desk beeped, and my secretary Gertie's voice came across. "Mr. M., you have someone here to see you."

Gertie hadn't used the term client so I knew the prospective employer was a witch or wizard. My office door opened, and a young woman with jet black hair and pale alabaster skin entered my office. The woman stood just a little above five feet tall and was wearing black leather pants and an electric blue corset over a purple blouse. She looked familiar, but I could not place her.

"Mr. Malfoy, I got your name from my brother-in-law. He suggested you might be able to help me."

"Well, that depends on a lot of things," I answered, still trying to place where I had seen this woman before. "Such as who are you and who is your brother-in-law?"

"My name is Audrey Weasley, and I am married to Percy Weasley."

Bingo. I knew I had seen her somewhere before. Percy Weasley was an up and coming superstar in the Ministry. Some said he was slated to be the next Minister of Magic when Shacklebolt retired. We had worked together a few years ago on the Ariana Dumbledore case, so in a sense I owed him.

I nodded and looked at the young woman. She seemed much younger than her husband, and while not uncommon that still raised some eyebrows in certain circles. "So what can I do for you?" I asked

She reached into her purse and pulled out a large envelope. "As you may know, my husband is in the Ministry," she started, sliding the envelope across the desk to me. "These arrived in the Muggle mail the other day."

I opened the envelope and pulled out several photos and a piece of paper. The photos were of Audrey in various states of undress and performing several acts with several different men. The note said that unless she wanted this pictures made public and her husband's career ruined she would use her influence to get him to remove his name from contention for Minister. I looked at the pictures again, and something seemed off. She looked younger than she was now, and in all the photos she had a dead look in her eyes.

"How old were you when these were taken?" I asked, playing a hunch.

"Too young," she replied, looking down.

I nodded. "How much does your husband know about the pictures or your past?"

"He knows about my past and what I had to do to survive. He doesn't know about the photos," she said, starting to cry. "He would immediately drop out, and I can't have that. He has a chance to do real good, and I won't be the cause of that."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" I asked, putting the photos back into envelope.

"I want you to find out who is doing this and stop them. I went to my brother-in-law first. He said that if he did anything he would have to officially report it. He suggested I hire you because, as he put it, 'That son of a bitch may be a slimy ferret, but he is the best at what he does.'"

"I am touched," I said dryly. I held the envelope in my hands and sighed. "I will tell you what, I will look into this and see what I can dig up. I have a particular disdain for blackmailers and child abusers, and this case allows me to try and stop both in one fell swoop. How could I resist?" I smirked.

She smiled and her face lit up. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I can pay your standard rate."

I shook my head. "I owe you and your family, and that's a position I don't exactly relish myself being in. Leave your contact information with Gertie out front." I held up the envelope. "I am going to keep these to see if I can find out anything. As soon as I do, I will let you know."

She nodded and thanked me again and left my office. I sat back in my chair, looked at the envelope, and sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Child abuse, blackmail, and a client who wasn't paying ... Yeah, that sounded about normal.

-OOO-

I opened the front door to the house and was greeted by the smell of baking bread and something else. "Torrie?" I called out.

"In here," she answered from the kitchen.

I walked into the kitchen and found Astoria standing next to the stove with her hands on her hips, watching a large pot of boiling vegetables.

"So what's cooking, doc?" I asked her, snaking my arms around her from behind and kissing her neck.

She turned around and kissed me back. "I'm rendering vegetable stock for later."

I nodded and turned and sat at one the tall stools we have around the kitchen island. "I may need your expertise on a case," I said, slicing off a piece of bread from the loaf cooling on a rack.

"You have a case in a restaurant?" she asked.

"No your other expertise." After our ordeal with Arianna Dumbledore, Astoria became interested in the mental illnesses and how they could be treated or prevented in the Magical population. She went through a Muggle program and was now set up in an office at St. Mungo's. "I am trying to stop someone from being blackmailed, and the case may end up involving underage girls. Your training may help me if I need to talk to anyone from that life," I said while pouring some champagne for both of us. "I have a hunch my usual method of hitting the person until they tell me what I need to know won't work with those girls."

I handed her a flute, and we went into the sitting room. I levitated the bottle and chiller behind us. I waved my wand and lit the wood in the fireplace. Astoria sat on the loveseat and tucked her feet under her. She took a sip of her champagne and looked at me over the rim of her flute.

"How can we afford such good champagne?" she asked, looking at her glass in the light from the fireplace.

"Low overhead." I smirked. "I weave my own blackjacks. So can I count on you to help?"

"Of course," she said. She downed the rest of her champagne and leaned forward and kissed me.

"We seem to be on the horns of a dilemma."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Well, how long till dinner is ready?" I asked, stroking her cheek.

"About an hour and a half," she responded, turning her head and kissing my hand.

"Well, we could either wait until after dinner, or I could ravish you now."

"Well, being that you have a tendency to fall into a stupor after a large meal," she said, standing up, kicking off her shoes, and unbuttoning and removing her jeans. "I think you should probably ravish me now."

I stood up and pulled her into an embrace. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Was your first clue when I took off my jeans?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

I picked her up and held her to where her legs were straddling my hips. "I'm a detective," I said, turning her around and pushing her back on the loveseat. "I'm trained to notice these things.


	2. Chapter 2

For Mortal Stakes: A Malfoy Files Story

Chapter Two

**A/N: I own none of what you recognize and only a portion of what you do not.**

I started my investigation the next day at the same place I start most of my investigations, The Firepit. Blaise Zabini bought a small rundown pub right after Hogwarts. The area where the pub was located was slated for urban renewal shortly after he purchased it. So Blaise quickly found his small pub smack in the middle of the fastest growing Magical community in all of Britain. So he did what we Slytherins do best; he adapted. He bought the connecting shops and expanded, turning The Firepit into the hottest magical nightclub going while reinventing himself into a legitimate businessman.

I was met at the door by the walking wall that was Willie, Blaise's bouncer. "Hey Mr. M," the huge man greeted me.

"Hey Willie, how's it going?" I asked, allowing him to open the door for me.

"I am doing okay, how are you?"

"Well, I am a little troubled by the violent nature of man and his inherent need for self-destruction." I smirked. "Or maybe I'm just hungry."

Willie shook his head. "Let me know if you figure it out," he laughed, holding the door.

It was late morning so the Pit had just started to open. I made my way to the tap room Blaise kept open in the back so old farts like he and myself could hang out and hold a conversation.

"Draco," Corinae greeted me, coming out from behind the bar and hugging me.

Corinae was the younger sister I never knew I had, quite literally. She had the misfortune of being born a squib in a pureblood family. My father had me obliviated so I would not remember and bring shame on the Malfoy name. She found me and hired me to help her a few years ago.

"Can I get you the regular?" she asked.

"Just the food," I answered, moving to my regular booth. Corinae brought me a sandwich and a bowl of soup. "What is it this time?" I asked

"Seafood salad on rye with a bowl of blackened shrimp gumbo," she said, setting the food in front of me. The steady customers never ordered from Corinae; we just let her choose for us. She had not been wrong yet.

"Is he around?" I asked, sniffing the soup. "I need to talk to him."

"He's in the office," she replied, wiping her hands on her apron. "I'll let him know you're here."

I nodded and took a bite of the gumbo. Corinae was right again. The soup seemed to do more than satisfy my hunger; it seemed to soothe me. I was halfway through my lunch when Blaise showed up.

"Hey," he said, sliding into the booth across from me.

He caught Corinae's eye and held up his hand. She nodded and a few minutes later brought him a plate with pasta with a white sauce, a loaf of garlic bread, and a chilled bottle of red wine. She set the food in front of Blaise and let her hand linger on his for just a moment. Blaise's normally cool and blank expression softened just a bit.

"Something I should know about you and my sister?" I asked between bites.

Blaise looked shocked, "Nothing man, honest. I wouldn't do that to her."

"You are not a good guy," I said. "Point of fact, you are a very bad guy."

Blaise nodded. "I know, which is why nothing is happening or going to happen." Blaise took a bite of his pasta, smiled, and shook his head. "I don't know how she does it. Have you ever seen her be wrong?"

"Never," I said, taking a piece of his bread.

"So what did you need?"

"I need to know who you know in the prostitution biz."

"Something I need to know about you and Torri?" Blaise smirked. "She wake up and realize who she was with?"

"It's for a case, dipshit. I am looking for someone who specializes in younger girls."

"I don't know anyone like that and if I did, you wouldn't be able to talk to them without a medium." Blaise's eyes grew cold.

"I didn't think you did, but you might put me in touch with someone who does."

"The only person I know is Astrid. She runs a high end brothel for high end clientele."

"Can you arrange a meeting for me?"

Blaise nodded and took another bite of pasta, "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll let you know when."

I finished my bread and stood up. "Put this on my tab, would ya?"

"We don't run tabs here," Blaise countered.

"Huh, imagine that," I said, walking out without paying.

-ooo-

Everyone knew Astrid Parker. She was the Madame of the most expensive and exclusive brothel in all of magical Britain. I was waiting in a very plush yet still professional office. I was sitting in a chair sipping the cup of tea that had been offered by the young man who had shown me in. Astrid Parker glided into the room and approached me. She looked to be about my age with dark hair, streaked with silver. She was wearing a Muggle business suit. As I shook her hand, I noticed her makeup and manicure were perfect.

"Mr. Malfoy, I have heard so much about you."

"If it is from Blaise, then it's all lies." I smirked.

"You have garnered quite the reputation. Seems you are something of a heroic figure to some. You are not really at all what I expected."

"Well, my tights and cape are at the cleaners."

"How droll," she sniffed, sitting in a chair behind her desk. "What can I do for you?"

"I am working for a client who has the need to contact someone in your line of work."

"Go on," she said, sounding interested.

"The person or persons I am looking for would specialize in younger girls and may even be involved in pornography."

"Those types of vermin and not associated with me. My women are all here by choice and are all of age. Those people prey upon the innocent to feed the needs of the perverse." She grew angrier. "They are nothing like me."

"I might have misspoke, and I apologize. I simply meant that in your profession you might have crossed paths with the type of person I am looking for. Maybe you could give me a name, a place to start."

"I might be able to do that. What would be in it for me?" she asked, smiling, showing off her perfect teeth.

"I could pay you, but I don't think that's what motivates you." I thought about it for a few minutes. "I'll tell you what, you give me a name and a last known, and I will owe you a favor."

She smiled even broader. "Hmmm, a favor from you. Being that I kind of like the super hero Draco Malfoy owing me, and the fact that if you don't like these people, you have a tendency to leave destruction in your wake, I will look into it and let you know." She stood up and extended her hand. "In the meantime you can go back to stopping the bad guys and rescuing the damsels in distress."

"Up, up, and away." I smirked, shaking her slim hand.

-ooo-

I sat at my desk in my office reading a few case files and filling out the billing invoices Gertie had left for me. My office door opened, and a small man with a pinched face and greasy black hair entered, flanked on either side by a very large man.

"You Malfoy?"

"That's what it says on the door."

The small man walked into my office. "You're poking your nose into somewhere it don't belong."

"I hate it when it does that. But hey, you see the size of it. Sometimes the thing has a mind of its own."

"You're very fucking funny. Let's see how funny you are without some of your teeth."

The two large men made their move. I was ready. I kicked back on my desk toppling over in my chair pulling my wands. I rolled to my left and started casting spells. I kicked up and hit one of the large men in the face with a stunner, closed the gap, and kicked the other one in the crotch. He went down. In all the excitement I lost track of the smaller man. I quickly found him again in the form of a sap to the back of my head. The world went black for a few seconds. When I came to, I was being held by one of the large men.

"There he is," the little man croaked. He reeled back and punched me in the jaw. "You need to back off." He hit me in the solar plexus, causing my wind to leave. "If you don't," he hit me again, "we will kill you."

The man dropped me onto the floor, stepped over me, and picked up his stunned friend. The small man got closer to my face, and I could smell his rancid breath.

"Do yourself a favor and just back off. You don't have any idea who you're up against." He kicked me one last time in the ribs and walked out of my office.

I was beginning to think he was right.


	3. Chapter 3

For Mortal Stakes: A Malfoy Files Story

A/N: Thanks for your patience with this while I worked on some personal issues. I finally have my head back right and the writing is coming back.

As always I own none of this except the story. Thank you JKR.

Chapter Three

The next morning found me still lying on my office floor, when Gertie had come in to open. My ribs and head had hurt so badly that I had decided to close my eyes, just for a minute and the next thing I knew Gertie was waking me up.

"Do I even want to know," she asked helping me into my chair.

"It was a visit from The Jehovah's Witnesses. Someone had let slip I was willing to be saved but could only be reached here after hours. Three of them showed up and attempted to gang-save me," I smirked as I sat wincing in the chair.

Gertie cast a cooling charm on a wet cloth and applied it to the back of my head.

"Lucky for you they hit you I the head. Not much to hurt in there."

I winced again. "You should have seen me I did a great job of crashing my ribs into their boots."

Gertie smiled and handed me a small linen envelope.

"This came in the morning post," she said leaving my office. "I have tea out here if you want some."

I nodded and looked and opened the envelope.

The card had an address and the name Santiago. I knew this lead was from Astrid Parker and decided I should probably run it down before it blew away like so much smoke.

After the previous nights occurrences, I figured I would need back up. Fortunately I knew exactly where to get it.

-OOO-

"So, can I count on you to have my back?" Blaise looked at me, as if I had grown a second head. "Yeah... Stupid question I know."

"Who are we supposed to be meeting with?" he asked, sitting across from me in our regular booth.

"The guy I need to see is named Santiago, and it's not so much a planned meeting. It's more of what you might call an impromptu encounter," I answered sipping my drink.

"So, It's a snatch and shake down?" I nodded. "Sounds like fun," Blaise's smile never quite meeting his eyes.

Corrinae was cleaning off a nearby table and I caught Blaise watching her.

I cleared my throat and said, "So how is Katie doing?"

Blaise had been dating Katie Bell since the whole ordeal with Ariana. His face took on a pained expression.

"I guess she's OK. We don't talk much anymore. She got a job offer with an Italian club. Neither of us are long distance people," he shrugged.

"She clean?" Katie had a problem with Pixie Dust.

Blaise nodded, "Just celebrated two years clean." I noted a tone of pride in his voice that Blaise doesn't usually have.

"That's good," I nodded.

"When are we going to facilitate this meeting?" Blaise asked, changing the subject.

"I figured we would head out as soon as you're done ogling my sister," I smirked swallowing the rest of my drink.

"Relax man, we've been over this," Blaise reassured me. "I care to much about her to subject her to me. But that doesn't mean I won't look."

I winced and sighed. "Fine just try not to drool around me, OK?"

Blaise smiled and finished his drink in one swallow, standing up. "Let's go break some laws."

I stood and followed him out of the back room.

-OOO-

Blaise and I went to the address that I had received. The site as a large Muggle housing complexthat looked as if it had been abandoned since the latest rounds of urban renewal projects had ended. The building was dark for the most part and I could hear the scurrying of unseen creatures in the halls. The was one floor that seemed to have power and I could see some light coming from the boarded windows.

We climbed the stairs as quietly as possible avoiding the rubbish and rats as best as possible. I had my wand out and so did Blaise. I didn't know what to expect but after my head had been used as a pinata I wasn't taking any chances. Blaise and I stopped on a landing below the floor the light was coming from. We could see a shadow moving back and forth in front of the light as if someone was standing guard. We locked eyes and both nodded.

The man standing in front of the door was one of the thugs who had paid me a visit. Blaise silently cast a stunner and the man slumped to the ground in front of a large door. Without wasting anytime I pulled the door open and the stairwell was flooded with yellow light.

We quickly made our way through the door into a long hallway with multiple multiple doorways. Most of flats did not have doors and were dark. Towards the end of the hall, there were several closed doors and I could hear music coming from behind one of the doors.

We checked the first door and it opened into a small one room flat with several piles of blankets on the floor no one was here. The second door opened into another room like the first this one had several children asleep on the blankets and a man sitting in a chair looking very bored. Blasie moved faster than I thought was possible.

"Silencio," he breathed coming out almost a whisper. He bounded across the floor and kicked the man hard in the crotch before he had managed to get to his feet. I looked at the sleeping girls and they all appeared to be between the ages of 5 and 15 years old. I shuddered to think why they were being kept here.

The last room in the hallway was a large double door and the music could be heard coming from there. I stopped and listened at the door.

"No, dammit," I heard a smack "You need to smile." I heard a small voice cry and the man laughed cruelly. "Or you can cry to. That always sells."

I could tell from Blaise's eyes he had heard the same thing. I leaned forward and whispered, "Leave the leader able to talk."

Blaise nodded ticked off three on his fingers and cast a Bombarda on the door. Inside the room there were three beds and three separate camera set-ups. On each bed was a girl no older than 12. There were several men standing around in various states of undress and several others running the cameras. The man I assume to be Santiago was standing next to one of the girls, holding her arm tightly. The girl was crying. Because of our surprise entrance Blaise and I were able to quickly dispatch the men. Blaise might have been a bit over zealous using a very specific slicing hex on the men standing around. The girls all screamed and bolted for the door. I made my way over to Santiago. He was a large man but looked decidedly soft. His face was red with anger .

"Do you know who I am?" he screamed.

"Yeah you're a piece of shit parasite who should count himself lucky I don't you over to my bloodthirsty friend here," I growled pointing to Blaise who was still dispatching the other men.

"I have friends in the ministry. You will be fucking sorry," the man blubbered.

"You know," I said pulling the man up by his ponytail, "I don't think you quite grasp the situation here."

I slammed my elbow into his face feeling his nose break.

"I don't give a shit who your friends are. All I care about is this." I held him up with one hand and showed him the pictures of Audrey Weasley with the other. "Is this your work?"

The man shook his head.

"Whose?"

The man shook his head again. "If I tell you, they'll kill me."

"If you don't tell me then I will kill you. So, you've gotta decide who you're more scared of," I elbowed him again to prove my point.

"Alright they look like the work of the Russians. Yuri Nievsky, he runs most of the girls outta London. He is a bad guy," Santiago said. I let him slump to the floor, a crying whimpering mass.

When I left the room in search of the kids to make sure everyone was OK. I pretended not to notice the look on Blaise's face nor the green light that filled the room as soon as I left.


	4. Chapter 4

For Mortal Stakes: A Malfoy Files Story

A/N: Many thanks to all my loyal readers and to the lovely and gracious Chelseyb1010 who helps make all this readable.

Chapter Four

I couldn't sleep. I sat up in my bed, and even though I knew the cooling charms were working on the house, the sheets were stuck to me with sweat. I kept seeing the hollow and haunted looks on the faces of those girls. I got up quietly and padded down the stairs into the kitchen. I made myself a cup of tea and sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, thinking.

I started when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I know that look," Astoria said. "What's wrong?"

I sighed and set down my cup. "It's this case I am working. You know, the one with the kids?" She nodded. "I don't know if I can do it," I admitted. "It's all so horrible and these girls ... they look so broken."

"Well, that's to be expected. They have been put through hell. Many times they have been betrayed by those in whom they trust the most," she explained, fixing herself a cup.

"I almost lost it today," I said, hanging my head. "I was just seconds away from using the curse in anger." She knew which one I meant without having to say it. "I was just so bloody angry and the kids were so ..." I felt tears on my cheeks. I had started to cry and didn't realize it.

Astoria put her cup down and took me in her arms. "Look at me," she said, taking my face in her hands. "You are a good man. You've faced the monster in all of us and fought back." I started to shake my head. "You turned your back on everything to be better man, and you can be. You are." She looked in my eyes and smiled "You may not see it, Draco, but I do. I believe in you."

She pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "Now how about I make us some breakfast?"

-ooo-

I walked into the DMLE substation in Diagon Alley. Alec Phillips had gotten himself stationed here in part so he could be closer to his girlfriend, my secretary Gertie. I smirked as I entered into the station. He was a good guy, if not a little straight-laced. And Gertie was, well, Gertie was Gertie, and that made for a very interesting dynamic.

I walked into Phillips' office, and he looked up from a stack of papers.

"Fuck me," he said, dropping his quill. "It's never a good thing when you come into my office."

"I need your help on a case," I said, plopping down in the chair across from his desk.

"I am sure you do. If I recall, and I do, the last time you needed my help I ended up being reviewed."

"That wasn't my fault. I didn't know the wizard had a bomb of all things."

"Thirty-five hundred Galleons damage and five injuries. You did notice I am not an Auror First Class anymore, right?"

Phillips had been moved to this substation and put in charge of investigations. Despite his whinging it had been a promotion and a job he was suited for.

"I need to know what you can tell me about Yuri Nievsky," I asked.

Phillips looked at me, his face showing concern. "He is a bad guy. Like, kill your entire family if you look at him wrong, bad.'

"That I have heard. What else is there?"

"He is second generation Russian Muggle. Has his finger in every criminal pie in London. Prostitution, pornography, drugs, human trafficking, murder for hire, you name it, he's into it. He knows about us as well."

"How the hell did that happen?"

"They're not as stringent in Russia with the secrets," Phillips shrugged. "If you're mixed up with Nievsky, there are two things you need to do."

"What's that?"

"Update your will and give Gertie a vacation."

I nodded. "Anything else you can help me with?"

"I could get you in touch with Section Seven."

"What's that?"

"It's a Muggle police section made up relatives of wizards. They handle bleed over situations. Cases where a Muggle or wizard is operating and committing crimes in both worlds. They handle the prosecution of Muggles. Being that Nievsky is a Muggle, and many of his victims are not, Section Seven is handling the investigation."

"Can you make the introductions?" I asked.

"I can let them know you might have some information and be willing to share. I might even put in a good word."

"You would do that for little old me?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

Phillips smirked, "Be nice to see you fuck up someone else's day for a change."

"Great. Let them know the office, would ya?"

"I'm sure with your propensity for taking cases in both worlds, they already know you."

"Ah but can you ever really know another human being?" I asked, putting on a false tone.

"Just do me a favor and keep Gertie out of it."

"Yeah, like I can control anything she does." I smirked, opening his office door.

"Get the fuck outta my office, Malfoy. Before I change my mind."

I left his office and went straight to my own. Gertie was sitting at her desk looking at a Muggle magazine.

"Hey Gertie, why don't you take a couple of weeks off? With pay of course."

She put down her magazine and looked at me. "Okay, what's up?"

"Nothing. You just haven't had a vacation in, what?"

"Ever," she said, still suspicious.

"Exactly. It's about time you took one," I tried to say nonchalantly.

"Nuh-uh, boy-o, that ain't cutting it. What's up?"

"I have taken a case involving some really scary people, and I think it would be best if you weren't around me for the next few weeks."

"Screw that. If these people have anything to do with the case with the girls ..."

I looked at her, startled that she knew the details.

"I spoke with Astoria. She's concerned. Like I was saying, if this is that case then I am gonna help."

I shook my head. "I kinda promised that I would keep you out of it."

Gertie's eyes narrowed, and her mouth became a thin line. "Promised who?" she asked, her voice becoming cold.

"He was just concerned is all. He cares about you."

Gertie's eyes flashed, and she stood up. "If you'll excuse me for a few minutes, I need to go castrate my boyfriend." She walked to the door.

I started to say something.

"And unless you want the same thing you will not say another word," she growled, looking back at me.

"But I,"

"Not another word," she said slowly, pausing after every word.

"Yes, mum." I saluted, retreating into my office.

The glass in my windows shook as Gertie slammed the outer door.

-ooo-

Gertie had been gone close to two hours and I was sitting at my desk felling really sorry for Alec Phillips when my office door opened and a rather large man walked in accompanied but a slender woman. The man was well over six feet tall and looked like he was no stranger to fighting. The woman was shorter than the man with dark brown skin and something slightly familiar in the set of her facial features.

"Are you Draco Malfoy?" the large man asked, standing in front of my desk while the woman took in the surroundings.

"Gosh, I hope so being that I am wearing his pants." I smirked.

"Yeah, Phillips said you were overly fond of your own wit," the man commented, taking a seat while the woman stood behind him.

"I'm Detective Chief Inspector Dursley and this is Detective Sergeant Thomas of Section Seven. I understand that you were wanting some information on Yuri Nievsky?"

"I am," I answered plainly.

He looked at me for a few seconds then his eyes darted to his partner. She shrugged. "I did some checking on you, and you seem to have a few fans in the DMLE," he said.

"Stop it, you're making me blush."

"Despite that smart mouth, others think you might be able to help, and to tell you the truth we are at a standstill in the investigation."

"I'll do what I can to help, but my first priority is to help my client who is paying me."

The woman spoke up. "What did I tell you, 'D'? Dean said this scumbag would have an angle."

The man looked at the woman and spoke slowly. "Detective Sergeant, your objections have been made and noted. You don't have to like this; you just have do it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Guv," the woman said, still glowering.

The man turned back to me. "Nievsky runs his operation out of a small deli on Cornwall Road called Russian Food."

"Ah, a name rife with single entendre."

"Don't let the place fool you. If there is something criminal happening in London, Magical or otherwise, they know about it and many times plan it in that building."

"So what do you get for all this information?' I asked.

"All I ask is that if you find something we can use to put Nievsky away, you share it. What is your case involving, who's your client."

"You know I won't tell you that. But the case involves underage girls and some photos my client needs back."

"Blackmail?" the woman asked. I nodded. "Shit, those girls have been through enough. They don't need someone fucking with their lives now."

I nodded again. "How long has Nievsky been in charge?" I asked.

"Ever since we put his dad away three years ago." Dursley answered. "Anton, his dad, was old school. No kids, no human trafficking, and no killing unless necessary. His son is a new kind of animal. Kills cause he likes it. Sees everyone, no matter how young, as a revenue stream. Uses torture to unwind. He's a special monster. So what's your plan?"

"I don't usually have one. I just poke around till I piss someone off enough for them to make a run at me and go from there."

"That's a good way to get yourself and all those around you killed. I told you he's a bad man," Dursley said, standing up and nodding to the door.

"Didn't anyone tell you people?" I smirked. "So am I."


End file.
